J. Lumens, PhD (Joost)
Universiteitssingel 50 (room H3.362)
6229 ER Maastricht
Phone: +31 43 388 16 66
E-mail:
joost.lumens@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Joost Lumens is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering of Maastricht University Medical Center. His research mainly focuses on cardiovascular mechanics and hemodynamics under physiological and various pathophysiological circumstances, such as pulmonary hypertension-induced right heart failure, dyssynchronous heart failure, and valvular heart disease. To gain mechanistic insight in these different forms of heart failure, he combines computer simulations, where possible, with experimental and clinical data. He obtained his MSc degree in Medical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology in 2005. For his final MSc project, he used the CircAdapt model to study the effect of aging on left ventricular mechanics. The next four years, Joost worked as a PhD candidate at the Department of Physiology of Maastricht University Medical Center. During his PhD, he increased the application range of the CircAdapt model by the development and implementation of the TriSeg module of left-right ventricular interaction mechanics. With the integrated model he studied the mechanisms of right heart failure in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. In 2011, he worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the clinical electrophysiology department headed by Prof. Michel Haïssaguerre (Hôpital Cardiologique du Haut-Lévèque, Bordeaux-Pessac, France). His postdoctoral research focussed on the mechanisms of dyssynchronous heart failure and of its treatment with cardiac resynchronization therapy. Since March 2012, he works as staff member at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Maastricht University Medical Center. Currently, he works on development and application of the CircAdapt model as an advanced cardiovascular simulation tool for education and research. Also, he explores the potential of CircAdapt as a support tool for clinical decision making.
T. Delhaas, MD, PhD (Tammo)
Universiteitssingel 50 (room H3.366)
6229 ER Maastricht
Phone: +31 43 388 16 67
E-mail:
tammo.delhaas@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Tammo Delhaas obtained his MD at the University of Groningen in 1988. He received his PhD degree from Maastricht University in 1993 on the basis of a thesis on cardiac mechanics under normoxic and ischemic circumstances. He was trained in Pediatrics at the University Hospital Maastricht and at the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital in Utrecht and qualified as a Pediatrician in 1997. He received a Fulbright grant and an ICIN Fellowship to spend one year in 1996/1997 at the Departments of Bioengineering and Medicine from the University of California at San Diego. In 1997 he joined the Department of Physiology on a part-time basis. In the remaining time he was trained in Pediatric Cardiology at the University Hospital Aachen, Germany, and the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. In 2000 he qualified as a Pediatric Cardiologist, was appointed as Clinical Fellow of the Netherlands Heart Foundation, and got a full-time appointment at the Departments of Pediatrics and Physiology. In 2009 he was appointed professor and chair of Biomedical Engineering at Maastricht University. He is involved in projects related to cellular and cardiac mechanics, cardiac pacing, and mathematical modelling of the heart and circulation.
K. Reesink, PhD (Koen)
Universiteitssingel 50 (room H3.360)
6229 ER Maastricht
Phone: +31 43 388 16 68
E-mail:
k.reesink@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Koen Reesink is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC). His research and education focus is on cardiovascular structure and function. Specific topics include arterial wall biomechanics and adaptation, and ventricular-vascular interaction. His approach is to merge the disciplines and tools of engineering and clinical sciences to develop improved assessment methods to better understand degenerative and adaptive processes. Dr. Reesink obtained a BSc degree in Electrical Engineering at Fontys university in Eindhoven (1998) and an MSc degree in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) at Eindhoven University of Technology in 2002. In 2005, he received his PhD degree for his work on cardiac assist devices in the dept. of Cardiothoracic Surgery under supervision of prof. Jos Maessen and dr. Frederik van der Veen. From 2005-2008 he worked in the dept. of Biomedical Engineering at MUMC as a Post-doc on non-invasive assessment of arterial properties and cardiovascular dynamics. In 2008, he was awarded a 3-year Veni grant within the Innovative Research Incentives Scheme from the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Technology Foundation STW. From 2011-2012 he worked at Imperial College London as a Post-doc with prof. Alun Hughes and dr. Justin Davies on ‘Non-invasive pressure-volume analysis of Left Ventricular Pump Function’ supported by a seed grant from the College’s Healthcare Fund. After dr. Reesink assumed a position as Assistant Professor at Maastricht University in 2012 he was awarded a project grant (2013) from the British Heart Foundation with prof. Hughes and dr. Davies for continued research collaboration. Current research efforts focus on identification of the complex non-linear and dynamic properties of the arterial wall and utilisation of the mechanistic information contained therein. Dr. Reesink has been active in developing CircAdapt-based practical training in cardiovascular physiology education within the Bachelor phase of the medical curriculum at MUMC.
T. Arts, PhD (Theo)
Universiteitssingel 50 (room H3.359)
6229 ER Maastricht
Phone: +31 43 388 16 64
E-mail:
t.arts@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Theo Arts is Emeritus Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering of Maastricht University Medical Center. He obtained professorships in biomedical engineering at Twente University in Enschede and Eindhoven University of Technology in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. His scientific interest is mathematical modeling of biological systems and structures, mostly focused on mechanics and hemodynamics of heart and circulation. In 1978 he got his PhD on the subject of modeling heart mechanics and coronary hemodynamics. Later he was focused more on methods to quantify heart mechanics, followed by adaptation of cardiac structures to mechanical (over)load. In designing courses for medical and biomedical engineering students, he was challenged to design easy accessible computer models for educational purposes. Realizing that students are well educated in the basics of physics and or physiology, he translated insights, obtained in complicated scientific research, to computer models that could be understood from the basis by these students. Many of these models were converted to modules, composing the CircAdapt computer simulation of heart and circulation dynamics. Currently, he is officially retired, allowing him to spend more time than before on design, maintenance and improvement of these models.
W.R.M. Dassen, PhD (Willem)
Universiteitssingel 50
6229 ER Maastricht
Phone: +31 43 387 70 75
E-mail:
willem.dassen@mumc.nl
Willem Dassen is currently appointed as Associate Professor at the Department of Cardiology at Maastricht University. His main responsibility is presently formed by the organization of cardiovascular teaching in various parts of the medical curricula at Maastricht Medical School. After obtaining his MSc degree in Technical Informatics at the Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule in Aachen Germany he worked two years as researcher at the Rogowski Institute, Aachen. In 1977 he moved to the newly established Maastricht University, where he was involved in various research projects varying from experimental cardiac electrophysiology, cardiac surgery to clinical data analysis. He also acted as a consultant in the field of statistical analysis and methodology. His own main research interest is focussed on the mathematical simulation of cardiac electrophysiology, resulting in 1983 in a PhD thesis entitled “A Mathematical Model to Study Reentrant Cardiac Arrhythmias” and a number of scientific publications. In 1983 he worked as visiting faculty at the Prizker Institute of Medical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL. In 1986 he obtained his registration as Clinical Physicist and in 1998 he was appointed Associate Professor at Maastricht University. From the beginning of this century on his main focus shifted gradually from clinical and experimental research to medical education and he became responsible in a number of coordinating positions. To explore the more theoretical aspects of medical education he finalized in 2007 the Master in Health Professions Education Program at Maastricht University, MHPE. In the CircAdapt project, he attempts as in intermediate between biomedical researchers, software engineers and financial supporters to facilitate the cooperation between these partners allowing them to concentrate on their main expertise.